St. Paul, MN – After intense budget discussions and negotiations, film and television tax incentives were included in Minnesota’s 2021 Omnibus Tax Bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz last night, paving the way for increased production in the state and the creation of jobs. The Minnesota Film Production Tax Credit creates a transferable tax credit of up to 25% on qualified in-state expenditures for TV and film production. Minnesota appropriates zero dollars on this program, as the credits are not used until a production company spends money in the state — up to approximately $5 million a year — paying all of the applicable taxes on its spending. As post-pandemic production ramps up in a big way, this transferable tax credit should provide strong encouragement to the film and TV industry to bring those productions and resulting jobs to Minnesota, immediately helping to revive small business and grow middle-class jobs across the state.
“We are pleased that Gov. Walz and the Legislature recognize the potential economic benefits of the production industry,” said Melodie Bahan, executive director of MN Film & TV. “We’re particularly grateful to Rep. Dave Lislegard for his passionate advocacy on behalf of Minnesota’s production workers.”
During the legislative session hearings, the bill drew bipartisan support, as well as advocacy from MN Film & TV and SAG-AFTRA. The House and Senate bills also included supportive testimony in both chambers from labor leaders from IATSE Local 490, Teamsters Joint Council 32, and the Directors Guild of America. In addition, Duluth Mayor Emily Larson testified about that city’s positive experience with film projects, noting that, “Luring film and TV production is valuable to states and regions because production creates good jobs and injects money into the economy. [It] also brings visibility … increasing tourism and expanding sales tax for cities, counties and the entire state.” St. Louis County recently passed a local film and TV incentive to encourage more work in the county and Duluth area.
“American film and television content is among the most in-demand products made anywhere in the world, and that demand has never been higher,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “Production leads to the creation of many jobs beyond the set: from hospitality workers, drivers and the building trades, the spillover benefits reach far beyond the industry itself. With the passage of this tax incentive bill, the state of Minnesota has claimed its place in this growing industry. SAG-AFTRA sincerely appreciates the efforts of Gov. Walz, Minnesota legislators, industry allies in the state and, most importantly, our own hardworking SAG-AFTRA members who never gave up in their fight for this incentive"
A recent report by the Motion Picture Association of America revealed that the labor-intensive film and TV industry is responsible for creating 2.6 million jobs nationwide. Two-thirds of those jobs were in indirect industries such as hospitality, transportation and the construction trades. IATSE rep Brian Simpson testified that film and TV production “is like modern-day manufacturing and can only be done by real people working real middle-class jobs. Due to competition from other states [with tax incentives] and Canada, Minnesota has been exporting these jobs for at least 20 years now, but we can bring this back.”
Of the more than 30 states that offer some form of tax incentive, several states have realized substantial benefits from similar production tax credits. The first season of the Hulu series “Castle Rock,” shot in Massachusetts, created 1,026 jobs and generated $69 million in economic activity. Each $1 of tax credit generated an estimated $4.73 in economic activity in the state. During its 12-month production period, “Castle Rock” expenditures for hotels and motels, including casino hotels, were $914,000. The numbers were even more dramatic in Utah, where that ratio was $14 in new state GDP for every $1 of tax credit issued.
The tax incentives will potentially bring millions of dollars into the state’s economy annually from producers who could use it to begin work on the backlog of on-hold productions. It will also provide an important financial incentive to encourage production of all kinds to film in Minnesota for years to come. Lislegard, who originally introduced the film production tax credit bill and who experienced the benefits of film production firsthand when he was cast as a local actor in the 2005 film “North Country,” noted, “An incentive program like a film tax credit is the only way to build this thriving industry and allow it to be sustainable. Without a tax credit, they will not come.”
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.